I hate winter

I really feel like I should have bolded that title.  I really hate it.  I mean at first it’s ok.  The holidays come in and they’re all merry and bright.  Then comes the downside to the year.  It’s dark, cold and dreary.  There’s no sitting outside in the sun or enjoying the breeze of the evening air.  It’s just cold, dark and miserable. Hubs and I are thinking of going to visit the Keys again in a month or so.  I hope it happens. 

Obviously I’ve been incommunicado for a few weeks.  With the weather making me miserable and a little health scare, I just stayed away from all social media.  Too depressed to think of anything to write about.

Good news is I’m ok and I’m baaaaack.

Since I’m sure there are other people feeling the same way about winter, below is a reminder of the warmer months.  I can’t wait for them to be back.

 

Thank God For Small Favors

A couple of years ago, my in-laws bought me a laptop for use in my new career in real estate.  That did not pan out after more than a year of struggling, but I still had this awesome laptop to use. 

I loved it.  I could edit photos, blog, surf, whatever I wanted.  Then it broke.  I just stopped working.  I thought it was the video card.  Hubs didn’t know what it was.  All I know is that it just stopped working. Consistent Blue Screen of Death dead… No Safe Mode. No passing Go. No Collecting $200 dollars.  Dead. 

We made do with the desktop. I fully realize how ridiculous this makes me sound, but our desktop was a dinosaur. You would click on something, go make a pot of coffee, come back and still have to wait five minutes for it to engage.  We really needed a faster computer.  Hubs is taking college classes online and this was not cutting it.

So, for my birthday last year, hubs bought me a netbook.  It was nice, but it was not my laptop with the 17” monitor, cd drive and the keyboard took some getting used to.  It had all the power of my laptop in a miniature form.  It worked great until the day there was a little accident.  I was having a glass of wine and tweeting, probably.  It was summer.  There was condensation.  I think we all know where this is going. 

Of course we didn’t get the insurance on the old one.  That would have been smart.  I sucked it up and went out and bought a new one.  It is still alive.  I haven’t dropped it or anything on it yet. (Knock on wood.)

So, my big, hefty laptop sat in our sitting room collecting dust until today.  I had been saying that I want to get it fixed.  Hubs has been saying that it would cost too much and he was going to chuck it if he couldn’t get it to work.  I was devising ways of sneaking it out of the house unnoticed. 

Hubs turned it on today.  It works.  It turned on, it ran some diagnostic test and it fixed the problem.  I am so excited.  It’s sad, really, that this is what it takes to excite me these days, but it’s the little things.  I love my computer.  I’m so glad it’s back.

What a nice way to wake up

I got a nice surprise when I stumbled out of bed this morning.  I generally check my email when I wake up in the morning and it's usually just random spam.  Peppered in with the spam, this morning, was an email from the Bloggers website.

I am an Editors' Pick of the Day!  My mug has been up on their website all day!

I registered there about a month ago, I guess.  I thought it would be a nice way to network and just get people to read my stuff! Don't get me wrong.  Above all, I am blogging for  me, but it's boring to me if I'm the only one reading it.  I like to get some interaction and it's exciting to know that people are actually reading this thing.

So, I have another 7 hours and 15 minutes to soak it in.   Very cool.



 

The Most Expensive Coffee I've Ever Had

Friday morning, we were hit with a smallish snow storm.  It was only going to give us a couple of inches.  No one thought anything of it.  I certainly didn't.

I left home a little early that day.  I planned on stopping on the way to work for a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

The roads were a little slick, but nothing out of the ordinary for this time of the year.  I opted to not go the back way to the turnpike because there are lots of twists and turns.  I didn't want to take any chances.  Last year, hubs got stuck on those back roads and a kind man drove him home in his big truck.  I didn't want to tempt fate.

The drive took a little longer than usual, but that's to be expected.  I made my way down a two-lane highway, through a few traffic lights and headed on towards my favorite coffee in the world. The Dunkin' Donuts sign was shining like a beacon in the dark of the early morning.  (Cue the singing angels. Or Monty Python...)

I turned into the parking lot of the shopping center and noticed that not a blade had touched it.  I worried for a second, but I drove on.

I stopped in the center lane or what I thought was the center lane and checked for other traffic.  There was none so I started the left turn.  I started to slide.  All of my drivers ed classes flashed through my brain.  Steer into the skid.  Steer against the skid.  Don't hit the breaks.  Don't hit the breaks?  Hit the breaks!  Hit the breaks!

I hit the breaks.  I hit the curb. A little five-inch curb...  BANG!

You would have thought a bomb went off. 
I backed up and pulled into the parking lot and got out to survey the damage.  There was no visible damage.  Tire was inflated.  No dents.  Thank you, God!

I got my coffee and my sandwich and went on my merry way. My car was driving a little funny, but the roads are icy.  I pulled into a gas station and checked the tire pressure.  It was perfect.  I figured as soon as I get to the turnpike, the roads will clear up and I'll be fine.  It's just the roads.

It wasn't just the roads.  You see, friends.  I had bent the control arm of my car to the point where I was lucky it didn't shake off of my car.  Me, the dumbass of the year, drove the next forty miles to work.  On. A. Wonky. Tire. (Mom, I'm ok.  Sorry I didn't tell you.  I didn't think it was that big of a deal.  Ok, I'm calling you now, before you read this.)

I got to work THEN I called AAA and had my car towed to my local garage.  Got to ride in a tow truck.  Thanks, Eddie!

So, a 50 mile tow (thank God for AAA), a new control arm, new strut and new tie rod later... That was the most expensive cup of coffee I've ever had.  A $600 cup of coffee.  Mmmm. Delicious.

Project 365

While I'm chewing on my Life List, my New Year Resolutions, and my Mondo Beyondo List (and some trail mix) I wanted to direct your attention to the top right hand corner of my blog.

Yeah, up there...my Flickr photostream...

I've started a project that many people start in the New Year. My own special Project 365.

Though I'm not original and clearly I didn't bite off enough with my resolutions (you'll hear about them soon enough), I do hope you enjoy seeing life through my eyes.
All of the photos have been with my iPhone so far. That may continue and it may not, but I do hope you come back to see how the year progresses!

Canty Hogmanay!

Mwah!